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Everyone knows
that a toned body with a low
amount of
body
fat looks more
appealing (and definitely sexier) than a
body that is hidden by an
unwanted layer of adipose tissue
(fat). Yet, achieving a low or
healthy fat level is easier
wished upon than done along with
eating a well-balanced diet and
lifting weights, adding
cardiovascular
exercise to your daily life is
the best way to burn off that
undesired fat. There are many
reasons why achieving and
maintaining a healthy body fat
level using cardio should be an
important part of your life Whether
your goal is to improve your
general health, the way your
body looks, or both,
cardiovascular
training should be integrated
into your fitness regimen.
Cardio should become a part of
your routine and factored into
you day.
Look at
cardiovascular exercise as a way
to improve your overall physical
health. Cardiovascular training
done on a regular basis keeps
the heart pumping strong, blood
circulating properly, and helps
to improve your breathing
capacity, while boosting your
endurance. A consistent
cardio program also helps reduce your blood
pressure, reduces
glucose-stimulated
insulin
secretion, increases HDL-cholesterol
(the "good" cholesterol), and
decreases total
cholesterol. The majority of
people who are training in the
gym these days, however,
integrate cardiovascular
training into their workout
regimens for aesthetic purposes.
Put very simply, they want to
look good. How they feel usually
comes secondary to the
awesome-looking, lean physique
they want to display
As you get a
little older, it's important for
you to see the bigger picture in
terms of your health.
Cardiovascular training keeps
you healthy. A big, strong,
lean, and muscular physique is
great - but a big, strong, lean,
muscular, and healthy physique
is even better Cardiovascular
training helps you reduce your
body
fat levels
because it helps regulate your
metabolism. Why is regulating
your
metabolism
important to fat loss? Let me
use a metaphor to explain. Do you remember
those spinning "tops" you played
with as a child? You know those
small, plastic or wood,
cone-shaped toys? When you snapped
the little handle between your
thumb and middle finger, the top
would spin around and around on
its tiny, pointed tip. Remember
when you played
with the top, your goal was to
make the top spin as long and
hard as possible by creating a
powerful torque with your
fingers. The more powerful the
torque you created, the longer
and harder the top would spin. Think of your
body's metabolism just like the
top's spinning motion. You
control your body's metabolism
by getting it to "spin" as long
and as hard as possible. An
effective cardiovascular
training session is like a
powerful "snap" you perform with
your thumb and middle finger
that gets the top spinning (or
your metabolism running) long
and hard.
Does
cardiovascular training help you
burn body fat? It undoubtedly does
- but not in the way many people
think it does.
Many people feel
that the most significant
benefit of cardiovascular
training is that it burns body
fat while you are working out.
Although some of the body's fat
stores can be burned off and
used as energy during
cardiovascular training, it's
actually a very insignificant
amount One of the
greatest benefits of
cardiovascular training is its
effect on your body's metabolism
throughout the rest of the day.
Effective cardiovascular
training sessions rev up your
body's metabolism just like your
fingers get a top to spin. The more
effective your cardiovascular
training session, the longer and
harder your metabolism will
function throughout the entire
day. Sure, your
metabolism won't be functioning
as fast as it was a few hours
after your cardiovascular
training session as it was,
let's say, 30 minutes after your
workout. But as a result of your
effective cardio workout, your
metabolism will continue to work
harder than it normally would
because of that session - even
if it's only "wobbling" a little. But just like
the toy top, the momentum that
you created from your effective
cardiovascular training session
will keep your metabolism going
long after your cardio workout
has been completed
If you are just
beginning, chances are you have
not heard of your maximum heart
rate and your target heart rate
and if you have you are not
completely sure how to use them
to their fullest advantage. Well,
just
what is your maximum heart rate?
Your maximum heart rate is the
highest possible heart rate you
can achieve, or roughly the most
amount of times your heat can
beat per minute. However, it is
not uncommon for someone with a
history of sport to be able to
exceed his or her calculated
maximum heart rate. To burn the
most amount of fat in the
shortest amount of time, keep
your heart rate at 65%-75% of
your maximum heart rate. This is
your best intensity level for
ideal fat consumption as fuel.
There are a number of ways to
calculate this but the most
common is as follows (65% of
maximum heart rate will be
calculated): Subtract your age
from the number 220 and then
multiply that by 0.65 (to find
65%). The result will be 65
percent of your maximum heart
rate. In the previous example we
determined that the target heart
rate (in this case 65% of the
maximum heart rate) for this 15
year old was 133.25. What this
133.25 stands for is 133.25
beats per minute (133.25 can be
rounded either up or down for
training purposes). This means
that while you are performing
your cardiovascular exercise
your goal should be to keep your heart
rate up at 133-134 beats for
every minute that you exercise.
Enjoy your cardio, it will put
extra years on your life!
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